At the same time, tourists and journalists continue to arrive in Pyongyang to obverse celebrations of the ‘Day of The Son’, the official state celebration of the birth of North Korea founder Kim Il-Song.

A nuclear test is widely believed to be part of the celebration and also the proximate cause of US threats against the DPRK (Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, aka North Korea).

There have thus far been no signs either from Washington or Pyongyang of any moves to calm the tensions.